Tuesday Transformation

"The biggest risks were the greatest opportunities."
"God wants to stack the odds against us so we can experience a miracle of divine proportions."
"God wants you to get where God wants you to go more than you want to get where God wants you to go."

These are all quotes from the book I'm reading this week called In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day. It's written by Mark Batterson, pastor of National Community Church in DC. I've made many connections from the contents of this book to what we're attempting to do by planting a church. Yes, the odds are against us. Yes, when it comes to starting anything new in Knoxville, most people run from the part of Knoxville where we've felt called to begin The Overflow. However, I'm firmly convinced that God has placed us in this pit with a lion on a snowy day just so He can show this city how much He loves the people of Knoxville!

At the same time, we can't look at the opportunity before us and freak out when the obstacles become visible. I've also been reading in Numbers this week (yes, there's good reading in Numbers). In chapter 13, the people of Israel had an opportunity to seize the land that God had promised several hundred years prior. However, when they went to view the land, all they saw were the potential difficulties and obstacles all the while forgetting they had the Creator of the Universe on their side. They let their fear overtake them, the opportunity was missed, and they eventually died in the wilderness.

God,
I pray that we as a family and The Overflow as a church will allow our fears and hesitations to be consumed by your awesome power and faithful provisions! May we never see the obstacles more than we see the opportunity!